Probably not but I have had no pain relief and can not take another day of nausea, headaches and feeling like I'm drunk.

I'm on neurontin, well the generic gabapentin anyway, for trigeminal neuralgia (horrific face pain). It has worked amazingly for me, but it took nearly a full month before it started really kicking in.

And it was a VERY rough drug for me for about 2 weeks. I was basically bed ridden for 2 weeks on it. They warned me some people take time to adjust to it. Once I did, the pain is gone and I have no more side effects.

Stick with it if you can. It isn't a one-week wonder.

One other thing I thought about the neurontin/gabapentin. It may not be the same for you, but for me the pain started changing in character before it went away. It turned from stabbing to burning, but still hurt like hell, before it finally receded. If you're still in pain, but the pain seems to be a little different than it was (not better, just different), you might be on the road to help.

The pain did change (I thought I was crazy). But it still hurt real bad-even worse than without the gabapentin. I also have the generic. The problem is (and has been) that I have to work everyday. And the first thing I do each day is move a couple hundred thousand dollars of someone elses money between various accounts so I need my wits about me.
I am still waiting for pre-certs for an MRI and X-rays of my back ( the latest dr. theory) so in the meantime I'll take my reliable prednisone and feel 100% for a short while again.

I have been hurting so bad these past few days that it was making me feel like I would pass out. I found some prednisone in my drawer and took one 5mg pill this morning and now I am like a new person. Pain free, clearheaded, normal energy. What a huge difference this one med makes for me!

That is so strange to me. I've never known prednizone to work
that way or that fast. I wonder what your body chemicals is
missing, that Pred. fulfills?:hug:

That's the way the doctors react about the prednisone too. I swear I go from agony to well in about 2 hours after taking one 10 mg pill. And it fixes all of it-the pain, the fogginess, the total exhaustion. My primary said once that doctors believe some people run low on cortisol but there is no way to test for it and I am probably one of them. Sadly I was only able to find four 5mg pills so today I took 1/2 of one so I am only about 75%.
I really wish I could have the time to adjust to the gabapentin but I really couldn't take the pain and feeling loopy at work all day.
What I really wish is to know what is so wrong with me.

I get it now. Thank you.
ANN

Hi and welcome to NueroTalk. Boy, if I had a dollar for every doc that told me "its just stress" or "its all in your head" or "there's nothing wrong with you" I'd be a VERY rich woman today. I cant sit here and tell you if you have MS or not, but the thing I can tell you is to get yourself to a MS neuro ASAP!

Only a neuro who specializes in MS can work with you on this. That was my mistake many years ago. I just saw neurologists. None who specialized in MS. I got the typical, "she has depression, there's nothing else wrong with her" and was put on anti d's and sent home.

That happened for a long time until I went to an MS neuro who did the right testing and the right MRI's WITH contrast and really looked at me and did the right kind of in office testing.
Of course your stressed. Duh!! We all are when there's something wrong and we don't know what it is, especially if we fear its MS. There's a lot of things to be ruled out first before a dx of MS can be confirmed, and a lot of things to fall into the McDonald criteria before a dx can be confirmed.

It can take a long time, or it can take no time at all. Big thing is, you need the right kind of doctor. Sorry this is so long, but you need to be steered in the right direction when you are just starting out. Be patient, don't give up, don't let them tell you its all in your head! Its a cliché, but you are your best advocate. Only you know your body, only you can speak for yourself. If the doc isn't listening to you, move on.

There's a lot of warriors here with a lot of experience and a lot of hugs to go around. Don't ever hesitate to come and talk, or vent or just need hugs. We are here for you. :grouphug:

Thank you so much for that. Sadly my insurance requires referrals and until I met this last dr. (because my primary was out) nobody has really listened to me. It seems I get half through my symptoms and each dr. grabs something and yells "eureka! I've got it !" I feel now like they are just throwing meds at me so I'll be drugged and finally shut up.
I am at somewhat of a standstill again because my insurance company is not approving the MRI of my lower back. The dr. is fighting it but who knows? I don't even know if there is a ms specialist neuro that my insurance would cover. Either way I do have an appt with the primary on the 9th. I have to get some MORE bloodwork done before. I feel like someday I'll be drugged, in a wheelchair, with many holes in my arms and still no answers.
As you can tell I'm a little down these days. I feel like life is going on all around me but I don't have the fortitude to participate.

:circlelove: ((((((Ami)))))) :circlelove:

My insurance will not pay for the MRI of my back. I'll never get a diagnosis or the right medicine. I am so depressed.

That is not right...if your doctor recommends an MRI, he should be the one who determines whether or not you get one, not the insurance company.

It makes being ill so much worse...keep fighting to find out what's going on!! Do you have a teaching hospital nearby who might have a clinic that won't charge?

You seem stuck between a rock and a hard place...:grouphug:

Back to the primary today. Got the referral for back X-rays, both lower lumbar and Sacroiliac. Got a lower dose of gabapentin and weekly doses of Vitamin D. Also got a referral for PT to "strenghen my core". I am to the point where I'll try anything in case I find something that brings my life back.

Hi ami.....when a doctor tells us "its stress" or "your fine"...its very demeaning and invalidating and frustrating. Most of us here have had that experience more than once. ALWAYS get copies/discs of tests, reports, labs, and dr notes. and keep track of them. Your symptoms could be so many things and might be more than one thing. You just have to keep going until you find a doctor who listens and takes the time to figure it out.

Good luck and keep us up to date.

No Insurance now...
 

So now my medical insurance is dropping me as of 12/31. I don't know what this will do as far as which doctors I can keep.
I got my back x-ray tonight. Will know more in a couple of days.

can you COBRA?

I can't COBRA because I work. And I learned this new ObamaCare rules that if your employer offers Insurance you HAVE to get it there or through an independent source. My already monthly prescriptions are so expensive that I have to get the most expensive plan at work so with the cost of that and what I NOW will have to pay for scripts I have lost $750.00 a month from my income. That leaves me way below poverty level because I am single, so one income household. The only way I may have a chance of surviving is to get on permanent disability and get food stamps, heating assistance, welfare, medicaid, etc.See how this new plan saves the government money?
The problem is still don't have a diagnosis-sigh.
I hurt all the time, I am exhausted all the time and now through nothing I did I will soon be dirt poor.

Oh-and I have also a new, very strange symptom. There are these couple of muscles in my upper belly area that jump periodically. It looks and feels exactly like a baby moving. My doctor's reaction was "well we know there's no baby in there". Wow-l said looks and feels LIKE!
I am maybe crazy but have never been stupid, thank you doc.